John Poynton resigns from Alinta board

The fallout at the top levels of WA gas giant Alinta Ltd continued today, with John Poynton quitting the board just one day after his management buy out cohort Bob Browning resigned as CEO.

Mr Poynton had stepped aside as chairman earlier this week when the MBO was announced, with John Akehurst taking the role and seeking to ring fence the independent directors from Mr Poynton and the management team driving the MBO.

However, there has been significant public acrimony over the proposal, with concerns about conflicts of interests arising since it became clear that the MBO had been before the board for weeks.

As late as yesterday, Mr Poynton was defending his decision to stay on the board but that resolve as much as his role in the bid has surprised many in the corporate and investment community.

Below is the full announcement from Alinta:
The Board of Alinta Limited today announced that Mr John Poynton has resigned as a Director of the Company. The Board supports his decision.
Alinta Chairman Mr John Akehurst said: "I would like to thank Mr Poynton, on behalf of the Company, for his contribution to Alinta during the six years that he has served as a Director and as Chairman. This has been a period which has seen very significant value generated for Alinta shareholders."